Your Monsoon Diet As Per Ayurveda

By Keshava Panikkar One's idea of ideal food for the monsoon would be, sitting in the verandah, enjoying a plate of hot bajjias- potato,onion & brinjal, as the incessant rain drums away outside.

But Ayurveda, the scripture for scientific living, frowns on such frivolities.

According to this 5000 year old science, the seasons or Ritus have been divided into six namely, Sharad Ritu (autumn), Varsha Ritu (monsoon), Greeshma Ritu (summer) Vasant Ritu (spring) Hemant Ritu (early winter), and Shishir Ritu (late winter) and the food regulations for each of the Ritus is different..Further in order to maintain good health you should know the nature of your constitution, whether it is, pitta, kahpa or vada and then should take only those foods that are appropriate to the particular Ritu.

Every object-plant, animal or human - according to the Panchabhootha Philosophy (five elements of philosophy) of Ayurveda is constituted of Vata, Pitta, Kapha.

The concentration of these elements vary in each individual and therefore the food requirement also needs to change.

Ayurveda text gives high importance to have a diet as per the prevailing season e.g.

during monsoon digestive enzymes become less potent functionally and unable to digest heavy and oily diet leading to indigestion.

Hence one should take light diet, so food can be digested easily.

It is not an easy task to make a diet chart that allows for the different human constitutions.

Still as shown by the diet chart made by the Ayush Ayurvedic Science Centre of Bombay, you can have a diet, that incorporates the goodness of Ayurveda and broadly what's ideal for you, this monsoon.

To find out which body type you are vata, pitta or kapha - you will have to consult with an Ayurvedic doctor, as during the monsoon months of June to September, vata is aggravated, pitta is accumulated and kapha is pacified or controlled.

Further earth vapour and humidity due to clouds leads to fermentation and resulting in conversion of ingested food into sour components, increasing acidity.

Hence the first necessity is to avoid fermented foods that would lead to further fermentation.

Breakfast Cow's milk is a good ingredient for breakfast.

Ingredients used for breakfast should be easily digestible, light, provide quick energy and not lead to lethargy.

Barley and gram are such cereals, whereas wheat is very difficult to digest for breakfast.

Lunch Lunch should consist of all the six rasas or tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent.

Begin the lunch with something sweet - a fruit or sweet , followed by the main course i.e salty , sour and pungent foods - dal sabzi, etc.

In the end, bitter and stringent digestive like saunf or ajwain should be taken as mouth fresheners.

The idea is to have a well balanced composite diet made up of all kinds of active ingredients, symbolized by different tastes.

Wheat is the more nutritious of all cereals and moong dal is the most easily digestible of all the pulses.

Tuvar dal causes acidity and flatulence hence it should not be eaten daily.

Also during the monsoon, black gram (urad) should be eaten frequently as it is an antidote to excessive flatulence.

Season it generously with ginger, mustard, cumin seeds, coriander, etc.

Avoid green leafy vegetables during the rains since they are contaminated.

Instead, go for whole grains or tubers like yam, sweet potato etc, or brinjal and pumpkin.

Curds can also be eaten with sugar, salt or amla powder, as the last three help break down curds into easily digestible form.

Buttermilk is preferable over curds, as it does not cause acidity and clears obstructed channels.

Food should always be rich in ghee content.

Ensure that you take only ghee made from cow's milk as this ghee does not increase cholesterol and pacifies pitta (acidity).

It also helps digestion, boosts immunity, increases your stress fighting capacity and improves memory.

Dinner should be comparatively lighter consisting of rice and milk mainly.

Heavy cereals like wheat are best avoided in the night time.

Take dinner only if you feel light.

Buffalo milk taken at night facilitates good sleep.

Take care that dinner also include all six types of rasas or tastes.

Foods to avoid this season Dried (preserved) meat, leafy vegetables, sour curd, fermented products, pork, beef, fish, tuvar dal, and excess of bitter and astringent things (since they aggravate vata).

Tip Take one harduki- known in English as myrobalam or five grams of Triphala powder daily in the morning with water to maintain energy throughout the day and boost immunity levels.

Dried fruits like almonds and other nuts should also be taken daily.

The diet charted here is very generic.

It is recommended that you consult your Ayurvedic doctor before you start your monsoon nutrition regimen as per Ayurveda.